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The Bystander Behavior (For Friends) Scale: Factor Structure and Correlation With Prior Victimization
Michele Cascardi1, Alison Krauss2, K Daniel O'Leary3
1William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, USA.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
|August 25, 2018
Summary
The Bystander Behavior (for Friends) Scale (BBS) has a robust four-factor structure across diverse university students. Proactive bystander behaviors are linked to prior victimization, suggesting nuanced approaches to studying interventions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Criminology
Background:
- The Bystander Behavior (for Friends) Scale (BBS) is a key tool for assessing prosocial bystander actions in sexual assault and intimate partner violence contexts.
- Previous validation of the BBS was limited to a single, non-diverse university sample, raising concerns about its generalizability and the robustness of its factor structure.
- Confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) methods, suitable for binary data, were not employed in the original BBS validation, and research on individual characteristics influencing bystander behavior is scarce.
Purpose of the Study:
- To employ CFA to validate the BBS factor structure in a broader, multi-university undergraduate sample.
- To investigate the relationship between prior victimization experiences (general and family-specific) and distinct factors of bystander behavior as measured by the BBS.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 556 university undergraduates from four U.S. universities participated in the study.
- Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using weighted least squares was conducted to evaluate the BBS factor structure.
- Statistical analyses were performed to examine associations between prior victimization and the identified BBS factors.
Main Results:
- The CFA confirmed the original four-factor model of the BBS: Risky Situations, Accessing Resources, Proactive Behaviors, and Party Safety.
- The Proactive Behaviors factor showed a positive association with both general and family-specific prior victimization.
- Risky Situations and Party Safety factors were positively linked to general prior victimization but not family-specific victimization; Accessing Resources showed no significant associations with either victimization type.
Conclusions:
- The BBS demonstrates a robust and multidimensional factor structure, supporting its use across diverse student populations.
- The differential associations between specific bystander behavior factors and prior victimization underscore the complexity of bystander engagement.
- Findings suggest that considering BBS factors individually is valuable for understanding the nuances of bystander behavior and its correlates.
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